After the wedding, Mrs. Reyes was exhausted from cleaning the house and fell asleep. Meanwhile, her son Carlo and daughter-in-law Mia had long gone into their room. The next morning, she woke up at 5 a.m. and continued cleaning because the house was full of dust and grease. By 11 a.m., she was bent over from exhaustion, yet there was still no movement upstairs.
Suddenly, she shouted from below: “Daughter-in-law! Daughter-in-law! Come down and prepare the food! Daughter-in-law, wake up!” She remained silent for a long while, then shouted again: “Daughter-in-law, wake up!” Her feet hurt, and she didn’t want to go up and down the stairs, so she stood at the bottom and shouted slowly—but there was no response.
Exhausted and angry, she grabbed a stick from the kitchen corner and went upstairs to teach her daughter-in-law a lesson.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she took a deep breath and said, “What kind of daughter-in-law is this? Newly married and lying in bed all morning!” But as she pulled back the blanket, she was horrified to see blood on the mattress.
Once she fully removed the blanket, she saw the dark red blood on the bed. She froze, and the stick slipped from her hand. “My God… what… what is this?” her voice trembled.
Mia lay unconscious on the bed. Her face was pale, her lips dry, and sweat dotted her forehead. Her breathing was slow. Mrs. Reyes immediately grabbed her shoulder.
“Mia! Wake up! What happened to you?”
But Mia didn’t respond.
Mrs. Reyes noticed empty blister packs of medication in the corner of the bed. Her heart raced. She checked Mia’s pulse.
“My God… this child… this is…”
She suddenly screamed loudly:
“Carlo! Carlo! Come here immediately!”
Carlo was in the living room, talking on the phone. Hearing his mother’s panic, he froze and ran upstairs.
“What happened, Ma? Why are you shouting like that?”
When he entered the room, he saw the blood-stained bed. His face turned red with fear.
“Wh… what is this?”
His mother cried, “I thought she was just sleeping… I only took the stick to wake her… but when I saw this…”
Carlo couldn’t speak and quickly took Mia into his arms.
“Ma, call an ambulance! Fast!”
His mother hurried downstairs, her hands shaking as she dialed.
“My God… what have I done… if something happens…”
Within minutes, the ambulance arrived. Neighbors came out, whispering,
“New daughter-in-law… looks like the mother-in-law’s discipline is starting.”
Mrs. Reyes heard it but had no reply at that moment.
At the hospital’s emergency room, Mia was immediately taken inside. Carlo sat outside, crying, holding his head.
“This is all my fault… I never even asked why she wouldn’t wake up…”
His mother approached, tears in her eyes.
“Son… I didn’t know… I thought she was just lazy…”
For the first time, Carlo glared angrily at his mother.
“Lazy? Ma, she’s been quietly enduring for three months. Waking up to clean the house with you, exhausted at night… and you never asked if she was okay?”
His mother cried.
“I didn’t know…”
The doctor came out.
“Who is the patient’s spouse?”
Carlo immediately stood.
“I am.”
The doctor took a deep breath.
“The patient has heavy bleeding. And…”
Carlo froze, his body trembling.
“And what, Doctor?”
The doctor spoke slowly:
“She’s pregnant… but now…”
Carlo lost consciousness.
“What… what did you say?”
Mrs. Reyes stood behind him, speechless.
“She has been experiencing pain and weakness for days. But she wasn’t cared for. Her condition is critical.”
Carlo recalled last week when Mia had told him, weakly,
“Carlo… I’m so tired… my stomach hurts…”
And what had he replied?
“Just endure it a little, Mia, your mother doesn’t want the work to stop.”
He hit the wall.
“What a huge sin I’ve committed…”
Mrs. Reyes sobbed heavily.
“Son… I thought she was just a helper…”
A nurse came in.
“The patient is awake.”
Carlo rushed inside. Mia’s eyes opened slightly. She weakly said,
“Carlo…”
Carlo held her hand.
“Mia… I’m here… forgive me…”
Mia cried.
“I’ve been enduring… but I didn’t tell anyone…”
Mrs. Reyes heard this from outside and felt a stab of shame.
Then the doctor gave a report that shook everyone further. In a serious tone,
“She has long been under stress and physical strain. She has significant blood loss, and the most concerning…”
Carlo asked anxiously,
“What is it, Doctor?”
The doctor paused.
“She has already had two miscarriages before. This is the third pregnancy… if she had proper rest, care, and emotional support, her condition might have been different.”
Mrs. Reyes’s eyes turned red.
“Two…? But she didn’t tell anyone…”
The doctor replied directly,
“Many women don’t speak up because they aren’t given a chance to.”
Each word struck Mrs. Reyes like a hammer.
Carlo sat down, remembering every morning he had heard his mother’s voice:
“Daughter-in-law, sweep the floor.”
“Daughter-in-law, why haven’t the dishes been washed?”
“Daughters-in-law in our house never rest.”
And every time, Mia was silently enduring.
At that moment, Mia’s weak voice came from the ward,
“Carlo…”
He ran inside. In Mia’s eyes, there was fear, pain, and long-hidden sadness.
“Did the doctor tell you?” she asked weakly.
Carlo’s voice faltered.
“Yes… I know everything now.”
Mia closed her eyes.
“So what good does that do now?”
Carlo held her hand.
“It matters greatly, Mia… it matters a lot. I was blind before.”
His mother entered, standing beside the bed, unable to speak.
Mia opened her eyes and, for the first time, looked directly at her mother-in-law.
“Ma…”
Tears ran down Mrs. Reyes’s face.
“‘Ma’… don’t call me that… I don’t deserve it.”
Mia’s voice trembled.
“I didn’t complain… I thought one day things would get better… but every day, I felt like a burden in this house.”
Her mother-in-law sat on the floor.
“I didn’t see you as a daughter-in-law… I thought you were a reflection of my youth.”
Carlo was surprised.
“Ma, what is that supposed to mean?”
Her mother revealed the past through her tears:
“When I entered this house, your grandmother did the same to me. From morning till night, it was only work, with no word of love. I promised I wouldn’t do that to my daughter-in-law… but gradually, I became what I once hated.”
The room fell silent.
The nurse entered.
“The patient must not be stressed.”
But the story didn’t end there.
That evening, another person arrived at the hospital—Mia’s mother. Seeing her daughter’s condition, she was furious.
“What happened to my child?”
She pointed at Mrs. Reyes.
“Newly married, sick child, and you made her a servant?”
Carlo intervened,
“Aunt, we all made mistakes…”
But Mia’s mother didn’t stop.
“Mistake? My daughter has nearly died twice, and no one took her to the hospital even once?”
The doctor agreed,
“If the family had prioritized her, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Now, Mrs. Reyes wasn’t just crying—she was ashamed of herself.
The next day, Carlo made a firm decision.
“Mia will stay at her mother’s house until she fully recovers.”
His mother bowed her head.
“Yes… that’s right.”
But the real twist came when the doctor called Carlo aside.
“There’s another thing… the report shows it wasn’t only the work that caused what happened to Mia.”
Carlo’s heart pounded.
“What do you mean?”
The doctor said slowly,
“Some medications were given to her that have side effects… they shouldn’t be given to a pregnant woman.”
Carlo’s face turned red.
“Who gave them?”
The doctor showed the file.
“It’s not herbal or traditional medicine—it’s hormonal… and it was given at someone’s house.”
Carlo’s mind raced with his mother’s name.
The doctor’s words hit him like a hammer:
“Pregnant women shouldn’t be given this… and someone in the house gave it.”
He saw his mother’s face, hands trembling.
“No… it can’t be…”
He hurriedly called his mother. In the hospital corridor, they faced each other. Her eyes welled with tears, fear and guilt clear.
“Ma… I want to know the truth,” Carlo said heavily.
“What medicine was given to Mia?”
His mother was silent. Her silence was the answer.
Carlo’s voice intensified.
“Ma!”
She fell into tears.
“I… I gave it…”
Carlo was stunned.
“You did?”
With a pounding heart, she said,
“I thought it was a tonic… a neighbor gave it. She said, ‘So much work, give her this to strengthen her.’ I didn’t know…”
Carlo closed his eyes in pain.
“Ma, you should never give medication to a pregnant daughter-in-law without a doctor.”
She clutched the floor.
“My mistake is huge… I just wanted the housework to continue… I forgot about her humanity.”
Mia’s mother arrived too and heard everything.
“Mistake?” her voice trembled.
“My child nearly died three times… and you call it a ‘mistake’?”
Mrs. Reyes hung her head.
“If this went to court, I might be punished… but truly, I didn’t know.”
Carlo said firmly,
“Whether knowingly or not, the damage is done.”
In the following weeks, Mia slowly recovered. But her spirit was wounded.
“I cannot go back to a house where my voice is not heard,” she told Carlo clearly.
Carlo didn’t hesitate.
“You will never be forced.”
One day, Carlo went with his mother to Mia’s parents’ house. Mrs. Reyes faced them.
“I am not here to ask for forgiveness… because not everything can be fixed by forgiveness. I am here to accept the truth.”
She looked at Mia.
“If you can ever consider me a mother someday—I would be grateful. And if not… I will accept whatever decision you make.”
The room was silent.
For the first time, Mia spoke clearly, firmly, and calmly:
“I’m not seeking revenge. I want justice—for myself and for all daughters-in-law whose voices are suppressed at home.”
She set a condition:
“When I return, household chores must be fairly divided. My health, wishes, and voice must be respected. If not—I will live separately.”
Carlo immediately agreed.
“I approve that.”
Her mother also nodded.
“I approve as well.”
Months later, the household changed. Not only did the mother-in-law wake at 5 a.m.—Carlo did too. In the kitchen, sometimes Mia, sometimes his mother, sometimes Carlo. Housework became responsibility, not a burden.
The biggest change was in Mrs. Reyes. She now told neighbors:
“The daughter-in-law is not a servant. And silence is not patience—it’s fear.”
A year passed. The doctor’s report came again.
Mia was pregnant once more—but this time, with love, care, and respect.
Carlo held her hand.
“Now, everything will be different.”
Mia smiled—not a forced smile, but one of dignity.
And Mrs. Reyes…
Before sleeping each night, she would always say:
“If I could turn back time, I would be a human being first… before being a mother-in-law.”
Lesson of the Story:
A family that relies on the silence of a daughter-in-law will eventually fall.
A family that learns to listen to her voice—that is a true family.